CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Labour Act was enacted in 1986. The Act prohibits employment of a child in 18 occupations and 65 processes. It regulates the conditions of working of children in other occupations and processes. As per the Act, a child is defined as any person below the age of 14 years. The Act provides penalties for the offense of employing or permitting employment of any child in violation of the provisions of the Act.
The RTE Act and Article 21-A of the Indian Constitution guarantee free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years. It was observed that the existing Child Labour Act was therefore not in conformity with the RTE Act, as it permitted employment of a child below 14 years in occupations and processes which were not prohibited. Further in May 2010, it was decided by the Government of India to amend the Child Labour Act to align it with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 138 and 182. The latter provides for a minimum age of entry into employment (ILO Convention 138) and the prohibition of employment of persons below 18 years in work which is likely to harm health, safety and morals (ILO Convention 182).
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After extensive deliberations, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) by the then Minister of Labour and Employment, Mallikarjun Kharge on 4 December 2012. The Bill recommended a complete ban on child labour until the child finishes elementary education, as guaranteed under the RTE Act. It also added a new category of adolescents. The Child Labour Bill was
also referred to the Standing Committee on Labour by the Speaker of Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) in consultation with the Chairman of Rajya Sabha for examination. In the process of the examination of the Bill, the Standing Committee invited representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Employment and other stakeholders, for expressing their views and suggestions on the proposed amendments. The final report of the Standing Committee was presented in December 2013. In June 2014, after extensive consultations, the Ministry of Labour and Employment annotated comments to the Report of the Standing Committee. The Ministry
invited further comments and suggestions from the public on the proposed amendments in its office memorandum. The changes in the Child Labour Bill were approved by the Union Cabinet on 13 May 2015, after taking a considered view of the suggestions of different stakeholders.
Key Features of the Proposed Amendment Bill
The Child Labour Bill (as amended by the Union Cabinet) proposes to define a child as a person below the age of 14 years or the age defined under the RTE Act. It links the age of prohibition of employment to the age under the RTE.
The Bill imposes a complete ban on employing children as
defined under the Act in all occupations and processes. However, certain limited exceptions have been proposed for the following cases: a) a child helping his/her family or family enterprise, which is other than any hazardous occupation or process, provided the work is carried out after school hours or during vacation; b) a child working as artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry or sports activities, except the circus, provided that the school education of the child is not affected.
The Bill introduces a new definition of adolescent in the Child Labour Act – an adolescent means a person between 14 and 18 years of age. A new provision has
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